Hello, goodbye: Zoos work to secure a polar bear future

Some changes are in store at the Oregon Zoo as part of a new national initiative to help polar bears. This month, the zoo will say hello to Kallik, a playful young male bear from the Saint Louis Zoo, and goodbye to Nora, who will move to Wisconsin’s Henry Vilas Zoo.

The moves are part of a plan rolled out by the Polar Bear Population Alliance — a new consortium focused on maintaining a genetically diverse polar bear population in the United States. Polar bears, classified as threatened under the U.S. Endangered Species Act, face a high risk of extinction due to changes in their Arctic habitat.

“We’re going to miss Nora,” said Rachel Ritchason, the Oregon Zoo’s deputy director of animal care. “But we know this is an important step for her. It would be amazing to see her raise some cubs and help ensure a long-term future for this very vulnerable species.”

Accredited zoos are supporting efforts to protect wild bears in the Arctic while also striving to sustain a healthy population in professional care. Both efforts are critical, conservationists say.

“Modern zoos and aquariums play a key part in saving this species,” said Amy Cutting, vice president of conservation at Polar Bears International. “Polar bears live in one of the harshest environments on the planet, making them notoriously difficult to study.”

Bears at accredited zoos also act as “Arctic ambassadors,” Cutting said, forming deep connections with guests and delivering messages about wildlife conservation to millions of people.

Nora was born Nov. 6, 2015, at the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium. She came to Portland in September 2016 and moved to Utah’s Hogle Zoo in 2017, returning to Portland in 2021. Kallik was born Nov. 11, 2022, at the Toledo Zoo & Aquarium and moved to St. Louis last year.

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